Japanese travel company H.I.S. Co. said Monday it will open 10 more hotels staffed by robots in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Osaka and Kyoto by March 2019. (Kyodo)

Corporate enfant terrible, Takafumi Horie, built one of Japan's most successful internet businesses, stood for the Diet, went to prison and started a space company that aims to put the country's first privately funded rocket into orbit. Now he has a new frontier: cattle. (Japan Times)

Amid the gloom and struggle that Osaka has gone through in recent years, a tourism boom has been an unexpected boon for Japan's gritty second city. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two persons over the alleged possession of marijuana and cultivation of the drug at the base of Mt. Takao in Hachioji City, reports the Asahi Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

The U.S. has for the first time told Japan it has a "strong interest" in starting talks over a potential free trade agreement between the two countries. (Nikkei)

Nearly 2,000 fire ants have been discovered in Kyoto in a shipping container that arrived from China, local authorities said Saturday. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have bust a so-called "JK" (joshi kosei) school girl business in Toshima Ward over the unlawful employment of minors, the first crackdown since the enactment of legislation regulating such establishments earlier this year, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has set the time for relocating the operations of the Tsukiji fish market to the nearby Toyosu waterfront area at September to October next year. (Japan Times)

Japan's adult video (AV) industry has faced multiple challenges over the past year. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male Korean national who is suspected of racking up 46 million yen in sales of counterfeit goods, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a suspected prowler who targeted residences in Adachi Ward, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Members of the popular all-girl idol group AKB48 and law enforcement participated in an event in Chiyoda Ward on Wednesday that seeks to eradicate online crimes, reports Sankei Sports. (tokyoreporter.com)

Ehime Prefectural Police have arrested a 63-year-old man who entered a police station in Niihama City on Wednesday and plunged a knife into a counter, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested an organized crime member who allegedly introduced a tattoo artist to a teenage girl, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested three persons, including an organized crime member, over the killing of an 18-year-old boy whose corpse was found in a river in Kawasaki City last year, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan and Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have visited an exhibition marking 150 years of diplomatic relations between the 2 countries. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have re-arrested a 29-year-old man in the robbery of a male taxi driver, a crime the suspect says he committed to cover the cost of an abortion, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

A 33-year-old man was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Fussa, Tokyo, on Saturday night. A 17-year-old youth was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in death after he turned himself in to police at around 1 a.m. Sunday (Japan Today)

Political candidates and party officials across Japan are filing paperwork and launching their campaigns for the Lower House election scheduled for October 22nd. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a member of a quasi-criminal syndicate over the alleged confinement and attempted extortion of a boy in Toshima Ward earlier this year, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

A court on Tuesday ordered the state and the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant to pay a total of about ¥500 million in damages for the 2011 nuclear disaster, the second ruling of its kind in a series of group lawsuits filed nationwide. (Japan Times)

Kanagawa Prefectural Police plan to arrest a man already in custody for the murder of a 27-year-old woman in Kawasaki City over one decade ago, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Kobe Steel says it shipped aluminum and copper products with falsified inspection certificates. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police revealed on Friday that an 29-year-old officer in the theft of women's underwear has been dismissed from his post. reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 6). (tokyoreporter.com)

People in Chichibu, a city north of Tokyo, launched hand-made rockets on Sunday to express their gratitude for the season's harvest. (NHK)